We’re all drawn to the amazing multi-coloured skeins of yarn when we shop, but nobody really knows what to do with them when it comes to knitting lace. ?In Nobody Nose, a colourful skein of crazy coloured “Party Girl” is tempered with a skein of “Frosted Teal” and combined into an asymmetrical lace shawl with garter stripes and delicate lace.

Today marks 5 years since I released the Eyjafjallajökull Shawl. After all the amazing images of the erupting volcano in Iceland, I just kept thinking about it, and next thing you know, it became this.

The pattern was inspired by some of the amazing pictures of the erupting volcano, with lava streaming down the sides of the mountain. Here, the lava streams starts at the centre of the shawl and streams outwards towards the edges and pool there.

The shawl is about 160 cm (63?) in diameter and is knit with fingering weight yarn. Because of the (relatively) thick yarn, it actually knits up fairly quickly. For me, this was one of those rare designs that just flew off the needles. Once I started, there was no stopping it. Come to think of it, I guess that’s rather appropriate for a volcano.

The Eyjafjallajökull Shawl is one of my favourites, and I often wear it at shows and events.

I just designed and knit a felted project bag that is just the right size for a smallish project like a shawl, or mittens, or socks. I made two versions – the blue-and-yellow (can we call it Swedish?) version seen above was knit in worsted weight yarn (Manos del Uruguay maxima), and the natural coloured version below was in Aran weight yarn (Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica). The bottom of the bag is flat and square so it can stand up nicely while you knit

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The base of the bag is worked first. Stitches are then picked up around the bottom, and the sides of the bag are worked in the round. Since the project bag is felted, it is important that the yarn used is NOT superwash, but 100% merino.

The drawstrings are i-cords, knit with leftover fingering weight yarn. In the blue-and-yellow bag, I used some Rock Paper Lizard Scissors Sock from indigodragonfly, and in the natural coloured bag I used Tyr from Raventwist.

Rapunzel Infinity is a completely reversible infinity scarf. It features lace and reversible cables, and is knit flat and grafted together at the end. Rapunzel’s braid is shown in the centre of the infinity scarf, surrounded by thorns on both sides.

Rapunzel is a German fairy tale in which an enchantress has imprisoned a young girl in a tower. Rapunzel has long, golden hair, and she lowers her braid from the tower so that the enchantress can visit her. One day a prince pretends to be the enchantress, visits her and they fall in love. They plan her escape, but the enchantress finds out and casts out Rapunzel. She then pretends to be Rapunzel, and the prince climbs up to meet her. When she tells him he will never see Rapunzel again, he leaps from the tower in despair and is blinded by the thorns below.

The pattern is also available in PDF format, both as a single pattern for $5.00

or as a part of the Fairy Tale Lace collection, which contains 7 patterns all inspired by fairy tales. The Fairy Tale Lace e-book is $20.00 and is also available in PDF format.

The signups for the Mystic Cabin KAL are now open, and I’m really looking forward to sharing this new adventure with you. And while the nature of mystery knitalongs is such that I can’t show you what the final piece will look like until AFTER the KAL is completed, I thought I’d just add a little teaser here.

The Mystic Cabin shawl is really cozy, and I look forward to wearing it once the mystery is unveiled. While designing it, I was imagining myself at our cabin, where we spend the summers. It’s a small little cedar log cabin, right on a lake in the Ottawa valley. During the days, I sit down by the water, knitting. As the day turns to dusk, we often light a camp fire, and grill hot dogs and toast marshmallows. We see the fireflies start to come out and soon the night has fallen. If there are no clouds, we can see millions of stars, and even the milkyway spread across the sky. Summer is coming, and I can’t wait!

Mystic Cabin is a cozy shawl to wrap yourself in, when a warm summer day turns into a cool summer night, and you’re sitting by the camp fire, looking into the dancing flames and listening to the crackling fire.

The little log cabin in the picture is located in the woods behind our cottage. It’s a perfect place to go, to enjoy the stillness and marvel at the magnificence of nature. It’s rustic, cozy, and absolutely beautiful.

This new Mystic Shawl is a triangular shaped shawl, published in mystery KAL format. The design was inspired by little log cabins in the still woods, and I look forward to bringing my shawl with me when I go out there this summer. To knit it, you will need approx. 630 yards of fingering weight yarn. The shawl is designed for the gradient kits from Black Trillium Yarn (see below for details), but can also be knit in two contrasting colours of fingering weight yarn. The size is adjustable, in pattern. My Mystic Cabin Shawl is a fairly generous size, but you can make yours smaller (or bigger) to suit your preferences.

The Rockslide Shawl is a fully reversible lace shawl. It uses old Shetland motifs to create an airy shawl with rolling river rocks on the body of the shawl, and a more solid row of diamonds separating the body from the edging with peaks and valleys.

This versatile shawl can be worn as a lacy accessory with an evening gown, or with jeans and a top for a casual look. There’s no need to worry about having the “right side” showing, as the shawl is completely reversible.

Rockslide is worked in several different directions. It starts with a provisional cast-on for the body. Then stitches are picked up for the diamond border, and the shawl is finished with a knit on edging.

Vogue Knit Live took place this weekend in NYC. I’m sure it’s a fabulous show, and I would have love to go.Cooperative Press was there, sharing a booth with Dragonfly fibers. And while I wasn’t there in person, my books were there.

Here’s Shannon Okey of Cooperative Press, with a nice stack of Mystic Shawls. The photo is taken by Simone Kereit of OwlCat Designs who was at the show with her new book.

And if you look closely, you’ll see that Shannon is wearing a gorgeous Mystic Light (knit for her by Christina, in Dragonfly yarn). I’m not sure that I’ve seen a two-colour Mystic Light before, but I really like that golden colour, and the effect it has as edging.

So what, you may ask, was I doing that I couldn’t make it to VKL this weekend? I was actually at a hockey tournament with one of my sons and his team, in the great metropolis of Brighton, ON. It was a lovely weekend spent mostly in an arena, with this view.

The end result was a very happy boy and a silver medal. So, all in all, a great weekend!

The first clue of the Mystic Cuppa KAL was released yesterday. There are definitely some speedy knitters in the KAL this time – we already have seven completed clue 1′s posted in the Knit & Knag Designs group on Ravelry.

Katherine in Nebraska was first to post, and she’s making this beautiful version in purple and green.

There are several others as well. And so far, we don’t have two that look the same – different colour choices all around.

Just the other day, my friend Sarah was talking about a short story that she read that ended with the following sentence: “Women who sit together, knitting and talking should never be underestimated.”

In an online KAL, we’re all part of a global “togetherness”, in which we’re all knitting together, even if we’re in different physical locations. I know that some of you have local groups in which several of you are knitting Mystic Cuppa, and others are following along through the web. Some of you are here for your first Mystic KAL, and others have been around since the very beginning (yes, I’m looking at you, Kirsten and Nicole).

For me, the absolute best part of these knitalongs is getting to know so many other knitters. So, on that note, a warm welcome to all of the new faces, and a giant welcome back to everyone else. I hope you’ll introduce yourselves and join the talking as well as the knitting. I’m really looking forward to hearing from you and sharing in your progress.

As one year has ended and another one started, it seems like a good time to look back at all that happened during 2014. It’s been an exciting year.

I released the last 3 spatters in the Fairy Tale Lace e-book; Star of Earth, Gretel’s Shawl and Rapunzel Infinity. It was a really fun collection to work on. As you all surely know by now, I do love fairy tales and using them as inspiration for my lace designs.

My personal favourites from this collection are the Cheshire Cat Shawl and Rapunzel Infinity.
The Cheshire Cat Shawl because I really loved the colour combination – the green was such an amazing green – and it was so much fun to knit stripes and then top it all off with an intricate lace border. It’s also an eminently wearable shawl, and I’ve worn it a LOT since I finished it.
Rapunzel Infinity I loved the combination of reversible cables and a very textured lace pattern. It was a fun knit, since the lace was worked on both right-side and wrong-side rows, and yet it was easy enough to memorize. I knit most of this cowl on a trip to Texas, and had the pattern memorized in no time at all.

I also finally got around to releasing a Fair Isle pattern – my Maple Leaf Touque. As I’m sure you’re all aware, most of my patterns to date have been lace patterns. But way back when I started to knit, my absolute favourite type of knitting was Fair Isle. I’ve been meaning to get back to it (and I actually have a few other patterns planned), but somehow I always get distracted by more lace. Still – I’m thrilled that I got around to making this gorgeous hat. When it’s dark and cold (like this week here in Ottawa, when it’s been down to -38 C with windchill), this colourful hat cheers me up. And keeps me warm too.

In Mystic Shawls we collected the first 14 Mystic patterns, all of which were originally published as mystery knitalongs. The shawls were re-photographed for the book, and we also included photos of beautiful examples that other knitters created during the knitalongs. The entire book details my journey as a designer. The Mystic KALs is how I got started. From Mystic Waters through an entire array of shawls, shapes and colours.

Without the encouragement of all of you, Mystic Waters could have been a one-off design. But the reception was spectacular, and I’ve really enjoyed hosting the mystery knitalongs and in particular getting to know this fabulous knitting community. Way back when I started, there was no Ravelry, and the KALs were hosted in Yahoo groups. But for the past many years, Ravelry has served as a platform to bring knitters together from all over the world. One of my favourite features is actually that it’s so easy to share pictures, and to access pictures of projects made from any particular pattern. It’s great to see how different a shawl can look depending on the colour choices made by the knitter.

And finally, 2014 also treated me to some excellent teaching opportunities. I’ve taught both locally at LYSs, private events, and even on a Caribbean Cruise. And last, but not least, my very first Craftsy class has launched.

Teaching at Craftsy has been absolutely wonderful so far. I’m thrilled to say that almost 1000 students have already joined me in My First Lace Shawl class. The platform is amazing, and I really enjoy the interactive capabilities of the platform.

Anyhow, looking back at 2014, I’m really pleased with all that’s been accomplished. I’m looking forward to another great year. First up, we have the Mystic Cuppa KAL which starts next week. After that? Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil any surprises. :-) Check back soon, and we’ll see what else is cooking.